04.04.09
`Spondon Friends’ Circle’ organized a
get-together and excursion on 27 March 2009 at the Pine
Forest of National Botanical Garden, Dhaka Bangladesh.
People with disabilities from diverse background and
types enthusiastically participated in this auspicious
event. People with disabilities gathered in this event to
learn each other, make individual friends & fellows
to share their knowledge and experiences to find their
common matters where they can help each other to address
their own challenges.
“Spondon Friends’ Circle” is an effort
of AWDP-Bangladesh to create an avenue for free sharing
of information, experiences, views and opinion on the
issues of their own and to strengthen their relation and
friendship among all categories of PWDs at very
individual level.
During this get together a festive environment was
created at Pine Forest where people with disabilities
enjoyed full freedom of their choice for sharing and
performing things whatever they liked to (talking,
chatting, singing and other performance). Participants
celebrated birthdays of ten PWD friends and marriage
anniversaries of three PWD members of the Friends’
Circle. It was a very exceptional and emotional event
that ever-held among people with disabilities in
Bangladesh. They also celebrated marriage of a couple
with blindness Jolly and Shohel who have been newly
married. They participated in ‘Spondon Friends’
Circle get-together for the first time. They mentioned
that it was an amazing experience for them to feel the
warmth of friendship from Spondon Friends.
Participants felicitated Jannatul Ferdous Ivy for her
excellent literary works and two publications during the
Ekushe Book Fair in February, one of which was
bi-lingual. (her blogsite is
http://jannativy.blogspot.com). It’s a great
blessing of almighty Allah that Ivy could save her life
just before a couple of days when she was attacked and
badly injured by a group of miscreants. She attended the
event though she wasn't fully cured. Participants wished
her early recovery. PWD Freinds also felicitated Antora
Ahmed for her big achievement, promotion to the post of
AVP of AB Bank Foreign Remittance Department. She is the
first PWD who could reach up to this level in the Banking
sector in Bangladesh. (her blogsite is
http://antorabd.blogspot.com)
There was no preset agenda for this get-together. But
the participants shared on many issues. Prevailing
scenario of opportunities of participation in the
socio-cultural and recreational activities of all
categories of PWDs, accessibility issues,
challenges/barriers of getting married/having conjugal
lives by PWDs, real understanding of the category
specific difficulties and limitations of PWDs, advantage
and limitations of group affiliation of people with same
types of disabilities and others.
The venue Pine Forest was a very beautiful, green and
natural place of the Botanical Garden where PWDs of all
categories got their access to most places. Getting such
a favorable environment people with disabilities started
talking and chatting from the beginning to the end. Young
participants didn’t forget to get aloof at
downstairs of lotus pond or behind the bushes in pair.
They expressed their feelings by saying that they dreamt
for participating in such an event for long and `Spondon
Friends’ Circle’ brought their dreams in to
reality. 54 participants attended this get-together. The
next get-together is expected to be held at an accessible
historic place of the country.
Source: http://nation.ittefaq.com/
